Nayami
by Hikari-Hero
Summary: Sequel to Forbidden Love. Ed and Al seem to have an easy going life right now, but that's before all hell breaks loose and the two get pulled into the trouble yet again! Elricest, RoyAi! Read and Reveiw, plz!
1. Tsukino Hikariga Terasu Yoruno

**This is the sequel to "Forbidden Love" read "Forbidden Love" first!**

"Nayami" translates to "Suffering"

Hikari: Okay, for those of you who have read ALL of Forbidden Love, this is the sequel, I changed the name like ten times before actually getting the perfect name for it. I had help from one of my buddies on deviantART! Enjoy, and please review

"Tsukino Hikariga Terasu Yoruno Negaiwa Utsukushii" translates to "The wishes of nights lit by the moon's light are beautiful"

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**Chapter 1: Tsukino Hikariga Terasu Yoruno Negaiwa Utsukushi**

A loud, exasperated sigh filled the slightly cold, dark, rather crowded dorm room. The sigh had come from the youngest alchemist in the military personnel, Soul, or as many new him by his name, Alphonse Elric, the younger brother of teen prodigy and first alchemist to become part of the State at age twelve, Edward Elric. He was the only one that would really ever know Ed for all that he was. Sure, people thought he was nothing more than a short-tempered teenager with the need for adventure. But that was nothing near what Edward was really like. Alphonse let out a soft chuckle as he thought about it. No, his brother was actually just very obstinate and always strived to get what he wanted. For instance, he really wanted to get the Philosopher's Stone so he could bring back his younger brother's body and it took him years, but that did not stop him in the least.

Alphonse ran a hand through his hair, contemplating on just how lucky he was to have a brother like Ed. Well, now the golden-eyed teen was not just his brother and only living family member, he was also his lover and thanks to a few weeks ago, all of the people at the Central Headquarters knew that fact and at first, it took them all a little getting used to, but they all came around sooner or later.

Suddenly, a familiar voice broke the very rare silence of the Central Headquarters, "I can't believe that the morally-bankrupt bastard with a God complex did that!" Alphonse sprung up in his bed instantly and watched his brother open the door to the dorm and flip the light switch on. His brother's golden eyes scanned the room and his face lit up instantaneously when he saw his little brother sitting on his bed, "Hey, Al." He smiled, his voice taking on that sweet, gentle tone that he normally had when he spoke to his little brother.

"What were you so upset about, Niisan?" Alphonse inquired. Edward's smile faded at his brother's statement and it was replaced by a scowl and Alphonse knew that Roy must have made a comment about Edward's height yet again.

"Fuhrer _Bastard_ was asking me if I had been drinking my milk like a good _little_ boy in front of everybody in the meeting and everybody quieted down, and when I told him to stop it, he just kept on making wiseass cracks about my height for the rest of the meeting…!" Alphonse rolled his eyes. If Edward had reacted to Mustang's teasing in the way he was thinking he did, then his brother was most likely to be the talk of the entire building for the next two weeks in the least, "Can you believe that bastard!?!??"  
"If you reacted in the way I think you did, Niisan, then, yes, I can understand why Roy continued teasing you." Alphonse admitted, a small nervous laughter escaping his lips as he did so. Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, Edward lunged at him, Alphonse shrieked at the top of his lungs and tried to scramble away, but to no avail for his brother was already straddling him on the small twin bed. Alphonse squirmed under his brother's touch, trying to escape his brother's clutches. Edward leaned in closer to his brother so their noses were almost touching.

Alphonse gulped and closed his eyes tightly, acting as if his brother was going to rip him to shreds for siding with Roy. But when he felt Ed's soft lips on the nape of his neck, he allowed himself to fall limp against the thin sheets that covered the bed. Ed removed his lips from his brother's neck and pressed their foreheads together.

"That's just like you, Al." Edward mused in a soft voice that could easily make Alphonse reduce to a puddle, Edward closed his golden eyes and softly pressed his lips to Al's cheek before adding to his statement, "Always taking somebody else's side instead of mine…" Alphonse sighed and gently nuzzled his brother's cheek before replying to his brother's soft musing. The clock on the wall chimed, wrecking the entire moment. Edward turned his head and glared at the object on the wall for wrecking the entire moment with its loud chiming. And, to both of the boys' displeasure, the aggravating blare of the clock simply would not cease for another minute or two.

"Hey, Niisan…" Alphonse murmured after the clock stopped chiming, his silver eyes fixed on his brother's wounded side. Edward turned his head so he was looking directly at the gentle younger teenager, "How is your side healing? You know, after you got your stitches out? Is it healing okay? Is it causing you pain in any way? Do you need me to go back to the hospital and ask the doctor a couple of quest--?" But Edward put an end to his brother's barrage of questions by a small shake of his head.

"I'm fine, Al, really…" Edward smiled as he rubbed the back of his neck, "Believe me, if I thought anything was wrong with the stitches, I'd tell you, okay?" Alphonse contemplated his brother's statement for a while before finally deciding to agree with his brother. Edward sighed and got off of the younger teen and tossed himself onto the couch so he was staring up at the ceiling fan.

"What's wrong?" Alphonse asked innocently, watching the golden-eyed alchemist intently.

"It's just…all of this…" Ed paused, shaking his head slightly, trying to find the right words, "If I wasn't in the military in the first place, we'd be better off, but then I don't know how we would've found the Stone. Hell, we'd be better off if we hadn't tried to bring Mom back, the books kept warning us but we ignored every sign…"

"Everything happens for a reason, Niisan." Alphonse said softly in response to his older brother's musing. Suddenly, an idea sparked in the younger boy's mind. Cautiously, Alphonse got up off of the bed and crept over to the couch and crouched behind it, silently waiting for the perfect moment to…

"I guess you're right, but still—." Ed began to say, but his statement was cut short the younger boy had abruptly pounced on him, capturing his brother's lips with his in a sloppy manor, instantly pulling his older brother out of his rather upsetting reverie. Mission accomplished. It did not take Edward long to fully melt into the heat of the kiss and that's how Alphonse knew that his attempt to get his brother off of the subject was a successful one.

Suddenly, Edward lurched forward, causing their foreheads to crash together. Alphonse squeaked and pulled away, putting a hand to his throbbing skull, he wasn't expecting to get a hit to the head from his older brother like that.

"What did you do that for?" Alphonse whined, irately rubbing his throbbing head. But his brother didn't answer verbally, instead, Ed leaned over the side of the couch and when he came back up, he was holding Hazel, Alphonse's light colored calico kitten, by the scruff of the neck.

"Your _kitten_ just dug her sharp claws into my hand." Edward growled venomously, pointing a threatening finger in front of the kitten's face. Hazel merely mewed softly and began purring.

"She didn't mean to, Niisan." Alphonse tried to defend the exceedingly playful kitten, "Maybe she was just trying to get your attention…"

"She didn't have to scratch me, though! I'm not her personal scratch post!" Ed fumed, harshly glaring at kitten as he held it in front of his face. Hazel merely purred and licked the tip of Edward's nose. He growled at the tiny ball of energetic fur and placed her back on the ground, once on the ground, Hazel scampered away, wagging her tail from side to side. Anybody else would've thought it was sweet that a kitten was trying to butter them up, but not Ed, he found it irritating. Hazel came across a ball of yarn that Alphonse had gotten for her and she immediately sprung on it.

"Isn't she just the cutest little thing, Niisan?" Alphonse inquired, looking over at his brother, who apparently did not find a kitten tangling itself up in a ball of yarn very appealing.

"She's just making a mess." Ed sighed, trying to get out from under his brother, but Alphonse had a different idea. Quickly, he grabbed his brother by the wrist and held his brother's scratched hand in front of his face, "What are you do—." Ed began, but when Alphonse pressed his lips to his brother's bloody wound, that silenced the teenager right away. When his younger brother's lips left his wound, he could only look at him in awe, but when Al surprised him with a soft, quick kiss on the lips, the older of the two was left completely dazed.

"There, do you feel better now, Niisan?" Alphonse inquired, gently pressing his lips to the golden boy's forehead, "Because I can shower you in all of the kisses it takes to make the pain go away." Alphonse whispered into his brother's ear soothingly, his voice was so soft and gentle; he could have pacified nodded ever so slightly, silently assuring his little brother he was feeling loads better, but that still didn't save him from another quick kiss on the lips from his surprisingly crafty younger sibling, "Hey, Niisan?"

"What is it?" Ed barely managed to get the words out for he was still stuck on Cloud Nine from his brother's engaging and relaxing kisses.

"Can I brush your hair again?" Alphonse asked innocently. Edward nodded slightly and Alphonse smiled and let his brother sit up while he walked into the bathroom to get the brush. Alphonse walked back into the dorm, sat behind his brother on the couch, but decided to have a little more fun, so he grabbed his brother by the waist and pulled him back so the shorter teen was practically sitting on his lap. Edward blushed in realization, but made no attempt to move from his current position. Slowly, Alphonse's index finger wriggled between his brother's plaited hair and the rubber band that kept it in place and with a simple flick of the wrist, the band was out and Alphonse ran his fingers through the soft hair so the strands would come out of their plait, sending the long strands cascading down the shorter adolescent's shoulders like a waterfall of golden silk.

With the plait undone, Alphonse slowly began to comb the small knots and tangles out of his brother's golden hair, but he became tired of using the brush after he had rid his brother's hair of all of the snarls, so he placed the brush down and began to slowly rake his fingers through the soft, golden hair, deeply inhaling the intoxicating scent of his brother. Slowly, Alphonse pressed his lips to his brother's neck and pulled the shorter blonde back a little further so he was fully sitting on his lap and enfolded his arms around him, burying his nose in the crook of the older boy's neck.

"You smell like cinnamon, Ed…" Al mused as he nuzzled his brother's neck; Ed moaned softly and leaned his head back so it was resting on Alphonse's right shoulder. That gave Alphonse an idea. Gradually, Alphonse began to gently shower Ed's neck in kisses, his reward being the soft moans his brother would seldom allow to slip passed his lips. Edward sat up and changed his position so he was facing his brother. Alphonse snaked an arm around his brother's waist while his other arm gently pressed against Ed's upper body, pushing him down onto the couch so he was pinned under him, he had his brother straddled as well. Alphonse and Edward inched their faces toward each other until finally, their lips connect in an affectionate kiss. Both boys were beginning to get extremely light in the head, but that didn't stop them from showering the other with heated kisses until either brother could not exchange anything more than a small peck on the cheek.

The two collapsed in a heap, both extremely lightheaded from all of the kisses that they had exchanged. It had been a while since they had been able to kiss until neither of them could because their lips were too swollen. Both of them were panting, trying to regain the breath they had so clearly lost from the amount of kisses that they had given to the other just moments ago. After regaining their breath, the Elric brothers both get off of the couch; Ed started to look around for the rubber band that had once kept his hair in place, whilst Alphonse walked over to the dresser and started to untangle his excessively bouncy kitten from the mess that was once a perfect ball of yarn.

"Damn it, where is that thing?" Ed muttered; Alphonse glanced over his shoulder at his brother, who was crawling around on the floor on his hands and knees, searching for the red rubber band so he could redo his hair. Moments later, Alphonse finished the task of untangling his calico kitten from the straight-jacket of yarn she had made for herself and he placed her back on the ground and she quickly scampered off to get into more mischief, no doubt, "Found it!" Ed grinned, trying to plait his hair, but his fingers kept fumbling with the small band of rubber, which resulted in a messed up braid.

"Here." Alphonse laughed softly, walking over and taking the band from his brother's hair and brushing the tangles his brother had made from his hasty plaiting, "Let me do it." He soothed, taking his brother's silken hair in his hands, neatly plaiting the golden strands together in seconds before putting the rubber band in at the bottom so his brother's hair would stay that way. Ed reached back and felt the neatly done plait, but as he did so, his fingers touched that of his brother's, both of them blushed from the simple contact.

Alphonse took his brother's hand in his own and stood up and his brother did the same, their hands were still interlocked, so Alphonse quickly spun the shorter teenager around. Ed, who was completely caught off guard, was tremendously wobbly and he fell backwards, right into his brother's arms; their faces only inches apart and Edward had a steadily growing hue of deep crimson spreading across his features.

"You're cute when you blush, Niisan…" Alphonse cooed, leaning in, pressing their foreheads together, "But then again, no matter what you're doing, I always find you cute!" Al giggled, pulling away, releasing his brother from his hold. He walked over to the door and wrapped his fingers around the knob, but before turning it, he looked back over his shoulder, "I'm going for a walk, okay? I'll be back later." And with that, the silver-eyed teenager was out of the shorter boy's sight. Hazel scampered over to Ed and nuzzled his foot, causing him to look down at the ball of fur, he sighed and scratched her behind the ear, his eyes reverting back to the closed door.

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Hours passed and night had fallen upon Central. Alphonse loved it when it was quiet outside. Everybody was at home, sitting with their family. It was absolutely perfect because nothing lit the city except street lanterns and the moon and stars. As his thoughts trailed to the sky, Al looked up and looked at the full moon. It was pale, yet it shone so brightly.

"Al…?" Alphonse jumped; he turned his head saw his brother standing behind him with a confused expression dancing on his features.

"What is it, Niisan?" Alphonse questioned his brother softly. Ed walked over to his little brother's side and looked up at the starry night sky.

"I was just getting worried about you because it was getting late…" Ed murmured, watching the stars shine brightly. Alphonse slowly grabbed his brother's flesh hand and gave it a squeeze, causing Ed to look over at him and Al pecked just pecked his brother's cheek and turned his silver gaze back to the glittering sky. A burst of light was blazing across the sky.

"It's a shooting star…" Edward mused softly, his golden eyes trailing after the shimmering blaze of light.

"Mom said whenever you see a shooting star; you're supposed to make a wish, Niisan…" Alphonse responded softly, watching the blaze as well.

"Make a wish then." Edward murmured, turning his gaze toward his brother; Alphonse nodded and continued to watch the blaze of light shoot across the glimmering sky, "Because a wish on a moonlit night is always beautiful…"**

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Hikari: Was it good? Did you like it? If you did, please please pleeeease review! With some good feedback, I'll update as soon as I can, I promise you! And when I say as soon as I can, that's right after I finish typing the next chapter, which is going to be very fast with how fast my fingers move on the keyboard! XP


	2. Futaride Tengokuwo Todokeru

Hikari: -flops over from exhaustion- Jeez...sorry it took so long, I haven't been feeling well and it's hard for me to write when my head is pounding. Again, I had help naming this chapter from a friend, she's really great with coming up with names, of course, she doesn't know what's happening and I sort of changed it a little because she guessed something that was originally going to happen, so enjoy this second chapter.

'Futaride Tengokuwo Todokeru' - 'With the Two of Us, We Can Reach Heaven'

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**Chapter 2: Futaride Tengokuwo Todokeru **

The dorm room was dark, it was surprisingly peaceful for once, but even in the midst of pure tranquility, a soft groan of displeasure was heard. Ed had been trying to fall asleep for what seemed like forever. He raised his head and looked at the clock on the wall. It read 2:23. He sighed heavily and rolled over onto his stomach and put his pillow over his head, hoping that somehow he'd fall asleep in that position. Suddenly, Edward felt a small amount of pressure on his back. He stiffened up at first, but then he let himself relax because he knew that it just had to be the small calico sitting on top of him, but enough was enough. He was tired and he didn't feel like putting up with his brother's kitten at this time of the night.

"Hazel, get the hell off of me or I swear I'll strangle you…" Edward growled from under his pillow, burying his nose deeper into the sheets. For a while he thought that the kitten had actually listened to him for once until he felt the pressure move up onto his shoulder. That did it. Without warning, Edward jerked up in bed and whirled around, expecting to see a small ball of multi-colored fur sprawled on his covers, but instead what he saw was his little brother sitting at the foot of his bed, "Al?"

"You've been tossing and turning, Niisan…I thought you were having another nightmare." Alphonse murmured, "I hate it when you have nightmares…because I can't make them go away…"

"Al…" Ed murmured his brother's name ever so softly, which caused his little brother to look into his eyes instantly.

"I hate watching you suffer, even if it's just a nightmare…it's scary…you're drenched in sweat, you look devastated, and you keep murmuring apologies like everything bad that is happening in the world is all your fault…" It was clear that the silver-eyed teen was close to tears now, "When it's not…the world is not your burden to carry, Niisan…it's not…"

"Al…" Ed began, but Al interrupted him yet again.

"I hate it when you think you have to take responsibility for both of our actions. When we tried to bring Mom back, it wasn't entirely your fault, Niisan, it was mine too…"

After listening to his brother's words, Edward started to dwell on the subject that would send chills down his spine, and the subject was the failed human transmutation they had attempted years ago. No matter how many times Alphonse said it was _their_ burden to carry, Ed would always tell himself that it was _his_ burden to carry, not his brother's. He was the older one; he had to take responsibility for their actions, no matter what Alphonse would say about it.

"Niisan!" The familiar sound of Alphonse's voice broke Ed from his reverie.

"What?" Ed asked, looking at his brother because of the tone Al had just used on him.

"Stop thinking about the failed human transmutation, Edward!" Alphonse snapped at him, amazingly knowing _exactly_ what Edward was thinking yet again. The silvery eyed boy never ceased to amaze the blonde, not even for a millisecond.

"How'd you…?" Ed began to say, but Alphonse immediately interrupted.

"Because I know you better than anybody on the face of the earth!" The younger teenager grinned proudly, happy that he was the only one that would ever really know the true Ed, the brilliant, yet dense teenage boy behind the title of 'Fullmetal'. Edward sighed and reverted his golden gaze back to the clock, it was 2:47. Then, suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder and before he could respond to this sudden action, he felt his brother's tongue on the sensitive area below his left ear. His cheeks flushed a nice deep shade of scarlet and moaned faintly, but it was loud enough for the dominant teen to hear. Just as he was about to lay back down, Edward felt gentle arms being wrapped around his undersized body and a chin rest on the top of his head, causing the scarlet hue on his face to spread wider across his face and the color to deepen.

"Ah…Al…" Ed began to protest to his brother's affectionate actions, but as he felt the arms around his upper body move down to his waist, he was silenced instantly, the blush on his face spreading steadily all the while.

"You like it when I do this to you, don't you Niisan?" The silver-eyed teen grinned in pure mischief and pleasure as he leaned in closer to the short, blonde teenager that was trapped in his loving grasp and started to torture his innocent, golden-gazed victim by planting soft, slow kisses on his neck. And, to his content, the boy with eyes of captured sun unintentionally allowed soft, almost silent, moans to slip past his lips every now and then. Alphonse's gaze was locked on the boy in his arms. He could describe the scene before his eyes to every minute detail if asked. A teen that was as vivid as the sun was lying in his arms, with eyes that shone with us much light as Aurora Borealis closed in pleasure and a scarlet hue taut across his features…and to Alphonse, the entire moment felt like he was holding a tired, living angel in his arms.

Silence…

"Niisan?" Alphonse whispered into the hushed night atmosphere. To his surprise, he didn't even receive the slightest response. Concerned, he gently shook the golden being in his arms. The boy's body was limp and his chest was steadily rising and falling. Al smirked and laughed softly to himself before planting a warm kiss on the sleeping teen's brow. Deciding that he should have some fun, Alphonse carefully swung his legs over the edge of the small twin bed, still holding the sleeping teen in his arms, he moved his right arm so it was supporting Ed's legs while he moved his left to support his brother's head before he stood up and carried his brother around the dorm room for a while. It was quite easy considering his brother's height and weight. Not that he would _ever_ tell that to the short-tempered boy's _face_ because of how sensitive the golden eyed boy was about that fact, but it was true he was pretty short for his age.

Alphonse held his brother close and walked over to his bed, and laid his brother on the thin sheets and sat down next to him, smoothing back his brother's unruly bangs. His silver eyes trailed over to his brother's hair; it was in tangles and the plait was completely out of whack because of Ed's constant tossing and turning. A sigh escaped Al's lips as he pulled the rubber band from his brother's hair and carefully raked his fingers through his brother's hair to untangle the gold strands from their plaited state. Alphonse moved closer to his brother and curled up in a ball next to him, closing his silver eyes, murmuring something too soft to be heard before sleep won over.

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_"Edward…Alphonse." The voice was familiar. Ed and Al turned his head in the direction of the voice and saw a silhouetted figure._

_"M…Mom?" They both managed to choke out the question, both of their eyes welling over with tears as he examined the silhouette, the silhouette cleared and there stood Trisha._

_"C'mon, Ed, sweetie, don't cry…you're my little man." Trisha smiled as she held her arms out toward the teenagers, silently telling her children that she wanted to embrace them both in her arms after all of these years. Without second thought, the two young alchemists broke into a run toward her. Trisha enfolded her loving arms around her sons' quaking forms and started to murmur soothing words to both of them, trying to calm them down as tears ran down her face, happy to hold her babies in her arms once more. Edward and Alphonse's salty tears were staining the fabric of their mother's apron, but none of them cared, all that they wanted was to hold each other again and rest assured that everything was all right._

_Then a familiar voice that sent chills down Ed's spine rung in the air around them and the atmosphere suddenly become cold, "You must pay for her, Alchemist…" Edward's body went rigid and he clung to his mother like he did so many years ago._

_"I don't care what the toll; I'll do anything…just don't hurt my brother or my mother…" Edward shot at the faceless creature._

_"Very well, I won't hurt them physically…" The thing grinned and ran its tongue along its top layer of teeth, "For something this perfect you must pay with your…" The creature paused and grinned maliciously. Edward shrieked in pain as he felt millions of tiny, icy cold hands cling to him all at once. Frantic and confused, Edward looked over at his mother, who was reaching for him, trying to pull him free from the dark creatures that were clinging to him. His golden gaze then darted over to his brother, who was already in tears. Alphonse grabbed onto his brother and held him close, as if somehow, holding his brother would save him from this fate._

_Ed cried out in pure agony as he felt the icy creatures crawl onto his chest and a freezing hand pierced into his torso and pulled out a blinding light._

_"SOUL!" The Truth laughed as the light faded from Ed's golden eyes and he slipped into never ending darkness…_

_Cold…everything…was cold, and dark…he was numb and he felt like all humanity was leaving his body as painfully as it possibly could…and the only thing that he could hear was his brother's worried cries…_

"_NIISAN!"

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"Niisan! Niisan!" Alphonse was very close to breaking down in tears now. The sight that lay in front of him right now was enough to break him. His precious, golden brother, pale and covered in cold sweat, moaning and tears were trickling down his angelic face. It hurt the younger of the two to see his beloved sibling in a state such as this. Frightened, he started to roughly shake his brother's form, trying so hard to wake his brother from this torment, this agony. All he wanted was for Edward to open his golden eyes and tell him that everything was all right, "NIISAN!"

After that final cry of desperation and sorrow, Ed's golden eyes shot open and he immediately jerked up in bed, his eyes full of panic, and his chest was unsteadily rising as he heaved out ragged breaths. Edward's gaze trailed over to his brother and he looked as if a heavy load had been lifted from his soul. Before he knew it, he found being held up to a quaking body that he knew was his brother.

"You…you were crying and I thought you weren't going to wake up…" Al choked out. Edward stiffened, by the tone in Al's voice; he knew that the young alchemist was crying hard. Instantly, he wrapped his arms around his younger brother and buried his face in the fabric of the taller teen's shirt.

"I'm sorry…" Ed murmured. Alphonse's eyes widened as he heard his brother's words. He wasn't protesting that he was fine? The Fullmetal Alchemist was admitting that he was afraid of a nightmare? Something was wrong, very wrong, "I'm sorry…I'm sorry…"

That was only thing heard in the room; Edward's constant apologizing for something he didn't do.

"It's not your fault, Niisan…it was just a dream…" Alphonse started to say, but he was cut off by his brother's quaking voice.

"…I'm sorry...that I couldn't get Mom back…I'm sorry…"

"What?" Al breathed, pulling away from the embrace so he could see his brother's face. What he saw worried him deeply. This wasn't a joke, Ed's face was tear stained and strands of golden hair was sticking to his sweaty skin, and to make it worse, his golden eyes weren't full of determination, it was pure misery.

"I'm sorry…" Ed murmured again, tears falling from his golden eyes as he spoke, "I'm sorry, Al…"

Alphonse couldn't stand it anymore. Seeing Ed in a state such as this hurt him intensely. So he pulled his brother close to him and held him close, entangling his fingers in his brother's long silken hair and rested his chin atop his head, tears escaping his own eyes as he did so because seeing Ed cry made him break down in tears as well.

"It's not your fault…"

"I'm sorry…"

"It's not your fault, Niisan…it's not…" Alphonse soothed, holding Ed impossibly closer than he already was, "Stop blaming yourself for something you didn't do…it's hard for me to watch you wither like this…and I hate to see you cry…I want to make it all better but I can't when you won't tell me what's wrong…"

Ed looked into his brother's eyes, not giving a verbal reply. He didn't have to, Al could see it all in his eyes.

"You had a dream about Mom, didn't you?" Al asked softly.

"She was there…she was human again…and she held us…" Edward paused because of how quaky his voice was getting before continuing, "…Then…the Truth said that we had to pay…I told him that as long as he didn't hurt you or Mom…whatever the price was I'd pay it gladly…then…then those…those _things _grabbed me and they took…they took…"

"You can tell me…" Alphonse assured him, "You'll feel better if you tell somebody, Niisan."

"They took my soul, Al…and everything…I couldn't feel…I couldn't see…the only thing I could do was listen to your cries…and that was torture enough…"

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Hikari: Whew...-wipes sweat from brow- Jeez...that took FOREVER to write, I've been sick with a really bad cold and I've been loaded with homework, mainly Algebra, but other than that, I wrote this as fast as I could, please review! I have to go! School starts in a few minutes! 


	3. Wakaranaimonowo Wakaru

Hikari: -sweatdrop- Heheh, sorry if I made you all wait too long. What with Algebra and getting ready for high school and all, I have been rather busy lately. Well, the point is that I finished this chapter when I did, and it's the insane hour of 1 in the morning here, but I have my caffine to keep me up...well, enjoy

'Wakaranaimonowo Wakaru' - 'I Learn Waht I Don't Know'

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**Chapter 3: Wakaranaimonowo Wakaru **

Alphonse was lying on his stomach on his bed, absentmindedly stroking Hazel's back. Hazel was curled up in a ball a few inches in front of the teen, purring languidly as her silvery gazed master continued to treat her with his gentle touch.

"Hazel…what do you think Niisan's nightmare meant?" Al asked the small ball of multi-colored fur. Hazel looked up at her master with a questioning look in her blue eyes for a while before resting her head back down on the bed. Al sighed and continued to stroke her ever so softly, his thoughts fixed on that one subject. What his brother's dream had meant? Was it just his brother's high level of anxiety affecting his dreams? Or was it…some sort of warning? Maybe something was going to happen in the near future that had something to do with another human transmutation. Alphonse shook his head vigorously at the thought, trying to get _that_ awful memory out of his mind. He and his brother had vowed never to try and perform that dreaded taboo again, no matter what situation they were in, they were never ever going to use that form of alchemy again in their lives. But it was hard to shrug off what his brother had said the night before. Alphonse looked over at his brother, who had his head buried in his arms at the small desk in the corner of the room.

"Ed?" Alphonse asked softly, trying to get his brother's attention. Ed didn't move, "Edward?" Al asked slightly louder than before, scaring Hazel, causing her to jump off the bed and quickly take cover under it. Still no response. Confused, Alphonse sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed and tiptoed over to his brother. Gently, he placed a hand on his brother's shoulder as he spoke, "Ed?"

Edward jerked up in an instant from the slight contact, startling Alphonse, causing the taller boy to quickly recoil his hand and take a small step back. Ed looked over at the slightly alarmed teen and seemingly calmed down.

"What is it, Al?" Ed asked, his brow furrowed in perplexity as he spoke.

"You fell asleep." Alphonse informed the shorter teen, "Are you feeling okay, Niisan?" The younger asked, placing a hand on his brother's forehead. Ed quickly swatted his younger brother's hand away and leaned back in his chair a little too far, causing him to fall off of it and onto the wooden floors of the dorm in an instant, "Niisan!" Alphonse breathed, getting eye level with the short youth.

"Damn it!" Edward winced as he sat up, holding his head, hunched over in pain, swearing at the chair under his breath all the while, "Damn chair…!"

"Should I get you some ice to put on that?" Alphonse offered, referring to his brother's newly made injury. Ed merely shook his head, causing the throbbing to increase; much to the blonde teen's dislike.

"Nah, I'll be fine. I have to get this paperwork done or Roy will scream my ears off." Ed grinned, standing back up. He grabbed the chair and put it back the way it was before it went crashing to the floor and sat back down, grabbing his pencil and resuming his paperwork. Deciding that this conversation wasn't going anywhere, Alphonse walked back to his bed and got down on his hands and knees, looking for his kitten. She wasn't there.

"Hey, Niisan?" Al called over to his brother, now searching under his brother's bed. Ed looked up from his work and over to his brother.

"What is it?" Ed asked, slightly confused by his brother's behavior.

"Have you seen Hazel?" Alphonse asked, starting to get a little panicked. Hazel never found really good hiding spots, mainly because she was a very social cat and she loved to be the center of attention.

"No, I haven't seen her. Are you sure she isn't under the covers?" Ed asked, getting up from his chair to help his brother locate their pet.

"I'm sure, she went under the bed." Al replied, looking in the wastebasket; a normal spot that Hazel could be found in. No luck. Edward folded his arms and thought about all the places that their four-legged friend could fit into. Suddenly, it struck him.

"Hey, Al…" Ed began, afraid of what the answer he was going to receive.

"What is it, Niisan?" Al inquired, searching through the clothes in the laundry basket that was next to the bathroom door.

"What bed did she go under?" Ed asked, lightly kicking the colorful ball of yarn at his feet as he waited for his brother's response.  
"Mine, why?" Alphonse replied, scratching the top of his head as he tried to think of any other place in the room his beloved cat could have disappeared to. The door was closed, so she had to be in the room…right?

"There's an air vent in the wall under your bed." Ed pointed out. Alphonse sat up straight and looked over his shoulder, his silver gaze shifting between his brother and the bed in question. He knew his brother was telling the truth, for he had just looked under the twin bed, but he didn't pay attention to the vent because he had just thought that Hazel had wandered off to another part of the room.

"Hey, Niisan…" Al began, looking at his brother.

"Oh no, there is no WAY you are getting ME to go down that vent to look for your kitten, Alphonse!" Edward retorted, already knowing what his brother was implying, and he was NOT going to do it.

"Oh, please, Niisan?!" Alphonse asked, his silver eyes locking onto his brother's from as he pleaded with the stubborn teenager.

* * *

"Damned cat…always getting herself into trouble…" Ed growled in the back of his throat bitterly as he made his way around in the ventilation tunnels, searching around for the calico kitten that had caused this whole predicament so he could get out of the crammed place, "Jeez, it's hard to move around in here…" Ed groaned as he continued his army crawl. He was right, considering his stature, though; he was probably the only one in the entire military personnel that could _actually_ fit in the ventilation system without getting stuck.

He turned a corner and saw Hazel licking her paw a few feet in front of him, "Hazel…" Ed called over to her softly, so not to startle her. The kitten looked up at him and placed her foot back down on the ground and flicked her tail to the side as it to say 'what'?

Ed sighed, trying to get this kitten was going to be hard, he could already tell the mischievous feline was taunting him by flicking her tail from side to side, as if she thought this was all just a game, "Here kitty, kitty, kitty…" Ed cooed to the kitten softly. Hazel merely looked at him, continuing to mock the golden-eyed teen alchemist by flicking her tail side to side in pure mischief, "Hazel! Get over here!" Edward growled, glaring at the ball of fuzz.

"Mew?" Hazel mewed, her ears lying flat against her head as she looked at Ed, knowing that she was in trouble.

"Get over here…NOW!" Ed scolded her, his gaze hardening. Slowly, the kitten crept her way over to the teenager and crouched down. Ed grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and held her in front of his face, "Got you!"

Hazel licked the tip of Ed's nose and purred. Edward's golden gaze softened at the sight, finding it hard to stay upset with the small calico, "Okay, now, how's about we get out of here?"

"Mew!" Hazel mewed in agreement, back to her usual energetic self now that she couldn't sense anger radiating off of the teen. Ed sighed and placed the kitten down and followed her, since she probably knew as much about the military ventilation system as he did, which wasn't very much.

As Edward was army crawling in the vents with Hazel, he came across the vent above Roy's office. He stopped when he saw Falman, Fuery, Breda, and Havoc in the room along with Roy and Riza. Quickly, he grabbed Hazel and started to listen in on the groups' discussion.

"So…what do you make of those threats, Sir?" The voice that was heard belonged to Fuery, the shortest man of the group.

"I think every single one of them are bluffs. They wouldn't be telling us everything that the planned to do. They are planning something, though, but if these terrorists are two times worse than the Ishballan Rebellion, then we're in for it when they actually pull a trigger." Roy replied as his eyes scanned the paperwork that he held in his hand.

"What happens if they are telling the truth about this, Sir?" Breda inquired, folding his arms across his chest, his eyes fixed on Mustang.

"If they are telling the truth, which I highly doubt they are, mainly because these threats they are throwing at us are extremely childish by my standards, but if they are actually going to pull through with this…" Roy paused, looking at every person in that room, except for Ed of course, because he had no idea the young alchemist was even in earshot of this entire conversation, "Then we hope for the best, but we must be prepared for the worst, do you understand?" Roy asked, not expecting his question to be answered because he could read the soldiers' expressions with tremendous ease.

"Should we inform Fullmetal and Soul about this?" Falman asked. Roy merely looked at the tall man.

"No." Roy stated after a long pause, "I believe its best if they don't know about this. I don't want to drag them into another disaster such as this." Roy added to his rather short statement, "I don't want them to think that they have to be drug into this sort of stuff right after they got out of a war, let them have a break for a few months, if things get really bad and we need their talents, _I'll _tell them of this. Do you all hear me? Not a word to those two, no matter what."

Edward was listening in extra carefully now. He knew that this is how he'd get himself into trouble, but it's what he was good at, getting involved into matters that didn't originally concern him, that is. Ed wanted to get more information. Who was threatening the military? And why wasn't he or Al supposed to know about it? He wanted to get answers and he wanted them now!

"You're dismissed." Roy announced to the personnel that stood in front of him, the soldiers saluted him and left the room. Ed cursed under his breath, but Roy had heard it. The teen panicked, so he quickly scooted backward in the small space and held his breath, hoping that Roy would just assume that he was passing by the office.

A few moments slipped by and nothing was heard except for Roy flipping through paperwork. Ed started to retreat back into the direction he came from, keeping Hazel in front to make sure he didn't lose her to the never ending twists and turns of Central Headquarters' ventilation system.

"Almost…there…" Ed muttered, surprisingly recognizing where he was. Hazel wasn't much help; actually, she made the journey back to the room a lot harder than it needed to be in the first place. She really needed to get her claws clipped, because Ed had gotten tired of her dillydallying, so he just scooped her up and started to crawl back on his hands and knees. He was holding her gently, but she still insisted on sinking her claws deep into the flesh of his left hand. If it was anybody else, they would have shrieked in pain, or at least made some loud noise, but Ed was used to holding down those sounds, after all, getting all of the nerves in your right arm and left leg connected at the same time…getting blood drawn via cat claws was nothing. When Ed found his way back to the opening that lead into their room, he had to call out for his brother's aid, for it was quite hard to get back out.

"Al!" Ed called, and sure enough, his little brother was reaching for him, Ed smile and placed his automail hand into his brother's and allowed his brother to pull him up from the depths of the ventilation. Once both of them crawled out from beneath the bed, Alphonse got a good look at his brother's cut up hand.

"Niisan! You're bleeding!" Alphonse breathed as Ed placed Hazel down on the floor, she had small splotches of Ed's blood on her fur, but that was going to be easy to fix, "How did you…why…what happened?" Al finally managed to get the words out.

"It's nothing, I'm fine, I'll take care of it, you should really wash the blood out of Hazel's fur while it's still damp like that." Ed insisted that his brother take care of the kitten.

"No, Ed, your hand is all cut up and it's dripping blood everywhere. I'll give Hazel a bath later!" Alphonse responded to his brother's protests instantly, dragging his brother and kitten into the bathroom.

Just moments after the three had entered the bathroom; Alphonse had already run water over his brother's bloody hand, getting rid of all of the excess blood so he could see where the actual cuts where located on his brother's skin and was now digging through the drawers for the bandages. Well, Edward's glove was completely useless now, considering that it was practically crimson in color instead of white and it was shredded. Alphonse smiled slightly as he pulled out a roll of bandages from one of the drawers he was rummaging through.

"You still didn't tell me how your hand got all cut up like that, Ed." Al reminded the cocky adolescent as he begun to bind the bandages around the youth's left hand, making sure that Edward could still move his fingers around so he could write the remainder of his paperwork, which by the way, was still only half finished and the time was slipping away like white sand through your fingers.

"Hazel just scratched me up, okay? Nothing to worry about, I didn't cut my hand because of the fact I was crawling around in the vents.

"I'm so sorry, Niisan. I've been meaning to go get her claws clipped for quite sometime now, I'm sorry…I'm sorry…" Al murmured; his silver eyes welling up with tears, as if his brother's newly made wounds were entirely his fault.

"It's not your fault, Al." Ed replied softly, his voice gentle and considerate as he spoke. Edward grew silent as he recalled the conversation he had overheard while in the air vents.

A rough shake drew Ed from his train of thought, but the action was accompanied by the sound of his brother's voice, "Niisan!"

"What?" Ed asked, as he slowly slipped back into reality.

"You were staring off into space…what's on your mind?" Al inquired the older boy in front of him.

"Well, when I was in the ventilation…" Ed began.

* * *

Hikari: Well, what did you think? Was it good? If so, please please pleeeeeease review! I want some feedback so I know what I need to improve on for the next chapter! Well, I have to go, I'm tired...


	4. Aremoyou

Hikari: AH! Gomenasai! That was a long and unexpected wait. And it was uncalled for, gomen, gomen! I had Algebra homework piling up and my stupid teacher isn't updating the assignemnts or the tests so it seems like the entire class is failing AND our parents are NOT amused.

Again, I apologize for the wait, and I don't think that the next chapter will take as long as this...if it does, I apologize ahead of time.

"Aremoyou" - "Signs of Approaching Storm"

* * *

**Chapter 4: Aremoyou **

"So…the military is being threatened?" Al asked, turning on the faucet so he could get the red tinged liquid off of his hands.

"Sounds like it." Ed replied, "Well, we can't let them _know_ that we know about it, or they'll wonder how in the hell I found out and I'm sure they'd _love_ to hear about my journey into the ventilation system to find a cat." Ed stated sarcastically; Alphonse rolled his eyes, turning the water flow off when he noticed that the sink was filling up because the drain was still plugged. Hazel, who was walking around the edge of the sink, got off balance and fell into the water.

"Mew! Mew meow!" Hazel screeched as she flailed around in the warm water, oh how she _hated _getting wet. Alphonse noticed this and quickly tried to grab her, but in her haste to get free from the water, her claws bit into his skin and drug along his arm, making four long, deep scratch marks.

"Hazel!" Al scolded her, "Stop it! You don't do scratch!" As Ed watched his brother try to calm down the kitten, he felt a little anger because the kitten had just hurt his brother, "Hazel!" The kitten was merely prolonging her stay in the water by making a fuss about it. At this point, Ed just watched in curiosity, wondering how long it would be until Hazel would calm down enough so Alphonse could get a good grip onto her. Al winced as the soapy water got into his newly made wounds and bit down on his lip. He quickly reached for Hazel again, this time actually grabbing onto her. Ed just started to laugh. Even though his brother was hurt, it was a pretty funny sight.

"Stop laughing at me!" Al scowled playfully, the front of his shirt now completely drenched from Hazel's squirming, "It's hard to get her out when she's freaking out like this, Niisan!" Edward walked back out into the main part of the dorm, trying to stifle his laughing as he made his way over to the desk, "Niisan!"

"I'm sorry…" Ed choked out the apology, "But it's funny. She's got you soaked and she's still not calming down enough for you to get her out. You might as well give up on her, because she's not going to make your task any easier." Ed grinned.

"Ha, ha. Very funny, Ed!" Alphonse replied dully as he turned his attention back the kitten that had freed herself from his hold, he quickly grabbed onto her again, "Hold still, Hazel!" He scolded her as she scratched him again, he sighed and quickly jerked her out of the sink and started to dry her off, "You could have gotten out sooner if you would have held still."

Edward flopped down in his chair and picked up his pencil so he could continue his work where he had left off before having to venture his way through the twisted unknowns of the Central Headquarters ventilation system for a ball of mischievous fuzz that was his brother's beloved calico.

* * *

Hours passed and the alchemist with eyes of captured sun had fallen asleep, his fingers still holding onto the pencil ever so slightly as he slept. The dorm room was almost completely surrounded in darkness, except for the small desk lamp that illuminated that corner of the room faintly. Alphonse was sitting on the couch; absentmindedly petting his calico kitten, even though the small, fragile being had fallen asleep around an hour ago, which was about the time that his brother had drifted off as well.

Deciding that he'd best get his brother to go sleep in a bed, Alphonse stood up from his position on the couch, holding the delicate feline in his arms as he did so. Al tiptoed his way over to his bed and placed the calico on the soft, thin sheets of the bed before turning his attention back to his older brother. As Alphonse made his way over to the desk as silently as he possibly could with the squeaky hard wood floors of the dorm, he called out his brother's name just loud enough to try and pull the teen from his slumber.

"Niisan." Ed stirred, but that was it. Al rolled his eyes, he honestly didn't know if Edward was taking proper care of his body now that he had his own needs to satisfy since he wasn't trapped as a soul bound to an otherwise lifeless suit of armor. He placed a gentle hand on his sibling's shoulder and started to shake him softly. A soft moan slipped into the air from the smaller sibling's lips as his brother continued the action. Alphonse sighed and started to shake the sleeping adolescent a little more roughly as he rose his tone just a little, "Niisan!"

Eyes of golden sun opened to some extent at the sound; he was pretty tired. Alphonse smiled. Finally.

"Wh…what is it, Al?" Edward slurred the inquiry, still a little delusional from being pulled from his sleep, "You…you need somethin…?"

"No." The response was in a soft tone, "I just wanted to make sure you're okay. You should really go to bed, Niisan. I don't want you to stay up too late." Al explained. Ed looked into his brother's silver gaze for a while before sitting up and yawning, tears collecting in the corners of his eyes as he did so.

"I'm…not…tired…" Ed protested, his voice still slurring as he spoke. Al raised a questioning eyebrow to this and Ed managed a small smirk, "Okay, okay, fine…maybe I'm a little tired…"

"I'm sure if you'd just ask Roy, he'd give you more time." Alphonse smiled.

"I already finished the work. I just have to…" The pause seemed out of place, something Ed wouldn't normally do, "Turn it in…"

"I'll turn it in for you. You just go to bed, okay? Don't worry about it." Alphonse responded, taking the sheet of paper from under his brother's arms with little effort, "I'm positive that Roy will understand."

"I'll do it; I'll go to bed right after I deliver it to Mustang." Edward explained, grabbing onto the paper, pulling it from his brother's grasp, "I'll be right back…" Now this was just getting ridiculous. Ed was _willingly_ going to see **Mustang** about a piece of paperwork? Something just wasn't right about that at all.

"Are you feeling all right, Ed? You don't seem to be acting like yourself…"

"I'm fine! I just have to turn this in, it's…important…" Again with the out of place pausing. Something was definitely wrong. No piece of paperwork was important enough to Ed that he had to be the only one that could hand it in to Roy. Alphonse quickly snatched the paper from his brother's hands and held it out of Ed's reach, "Al! Give it back!" Ed demanded, struggling to attain the paper that was out of his reach because of the dreaded height factor between him and his younger brother.

"Sure, Ed. I'll give it back…" At the worlds, Ed started to smile, but that was before Alphonse finished his sentence, "_If_ you can reach it, my** little** angel."

"Who the hell are you calling a microscopic grain of sand that got stuck in your eye?!" Ed growled venomously, tackling the taller teen in his frenzied state. Even though he had clearly annoyed his brother to a great extent, Al couldn't help but laugh at this turn of events. All of this fuss over a lousy piece of paper with Edward's sloppy scribbling that could barely pass for handwriting carved onto it.

"Calm down, Niisan, it's just a piece of paper." Al smirked as he started to scan over the text. Wait…this was…this was, "A letter to Resembool?"

"I…I'm sorry, Al…" Alphonse didn't understand why his brother said that at first, but after he continued to read the letter, he then knew why Ed was being so touchy about him getting a hold if it in the first place.

"Aunt Pinako is sick?" Al asked, already knowing the answer, "How…how bad do you think it is?" Ed shrugged and turned his gaze to the floor.

"It says in the letter that she has been sick for quite some time now…as you have probably read…" Edward began, looking up at his brother, "I don't know how bad it actually is, though…"

"We should go back home and take care of her." Alphonse stated, already setting his mind on helping the woman that was like family to them.

"We have no home to go back to, Al…" Alphonse was about to open his mouth in protest, but that was before Ed finished, "But…we'll get on the next train to Resembool tomorrow."

"And…then can we go give flowers to Mom's grave?" Alphonse asked. He didn't want to bring that topic up, but he really wanted to be by their mother's grave and tell her that missed her with all his heart and soul. Edward froze up at the mention of their mother. He felt tears begin to build in his eyes, but he held them back, no matter how much the salty body fluid burned.

"Yeah….we can…" Ed admitted, trying to hide the emotional pain that was in his tone. He couldn't believe he was still so sensitive about that subject. After all, she had been dead for over five years now and he had long since accepted that death was something that was inevitable and it couldn't be reversed. Before Ed could speak again, Al already knew what he was going to say. A talent he treasured.

"I miss her too…" Alphonse breathed as he wrapped his arms around Ed's shoulders, quickly pulling the shorter boy into an assuring hug, resting his head on Edward's flesh and blood shoulder, slowly becoming intoxicated by his brother's familiar and relaxing scent. He tightened his grip ever so slightly when he felt Ed let his body relax against his. Slowly, the bright, golden hue slipped behind closed eyelids as Edward drifted off, his head on his brother's shoulder. A smile tugged at Al's lips. He knew Ed was tired, even if his brother wasn't going to admit it, he always knew.

* * *

Bright, practically blinding morning sunlight filtered in through the small slit between the curtains that blocked out the rest of the natural shine; the single ray of light was beginning to slay the shadows of night so it could alert the beings in the room that a new day was born and that yesterday was history.

The small calico kitten that lay on her master's otherwise unoccupied bed lifted her head and yawned, closing her sapphire eyes as she did so. She stood up and started to stretch out her body and looked at the ray of light. Small flecks of dust danced in the midst of the lone beam. Thinking the particles to be some sort of toy, the slender calico kitten bounded off of her master's bed and rushed over to the light and clawed at the tiny elements that could only be seen in the sunshine.

Confused that she couldn't get her paw on the small flecks she started mewing, trying to get her master's attention; she didn't like being teased by this foreign new 'toy'.

"Hazel…quit it, you insane fuzz ball…" Ed groaned in displeasure as the kitten's cries pulled him from his sleep. After a few more moments of hearing the kitten's cries, the elder boy slowly and carefully maneuvered his way out of his brother's limp embrace and stepped onto the floor, "Be quiet, or you're going to wake up Alphonse…" Ed hissed under his breath as he grasped the calico kitten by the scruff of the neck, instantly putting a stop to her mewing. Multi-colored ears lay flat against her head; she knew she was in trouble, her sapphire eyes begging him not to scold her, "Don't you give me that look, Hazel." Ed warned, a smile threatening to appear on his face, but he knew that if he smiled, she'd think it game and act up like that often.

"Mew…" Hazel purred, flicking her tail from side to side in her playfulness. Ed sighed and placed her back down on the ground; she purred and scampered over to the light, trying to get a grip on the elements yet again. Ed watched her efforts and couldn't help but smile. He had to admit, it _was_ pretty cute.

Ed yawned and sat down on the couch, bringing his legs up against his chest as he started to fall asleep, his eyes just about closed when he felt two hands rest on his shoulders. He titled his head back and his gaze met with gentle silver eyes.  
"Morning, sleepy-head." He smiled; Alphonse returned the smile and moved over to the other side of the couch and sat down next to his tired sibling.

"What are you doing up so early?" Al mused as he felt Ed lean his head against his shoulder.

"It's not like I intended to…Hazel was crying so I got…up…." Ed explained as he closed his eyes, but those eyes soon opened up again when Alphonse started to move. To prevent this, Ed wrapped his arms around Al's sides and clung to him, burying his face in his sibling's shirt, "Stay…"  
Alphonse smiled and enfolded his arms around his elder kin and pulled him impossibly closer and pressed his lips to Ed's forehead, "Okay, I'll stay here." Al soothed, stroking his brother's messily plaited hair. Ed sighed contently and closed his eyes, still clinging to his brother's shirt loosely as he drifted off.

* * *

Al opened his eyes to the sound of knocking on the door. How long had he been asleep? His brother was still in his arms, and that was enough to calm him. He took a glance at the clock that hung up on the wall. It was almost noon? Another knock grabbed his attention. Alphonse glanced at the door and then looked at the sleeping teen in his arms. What was he supposed to do? He sighed and held onto his brother a little bit more tightly.

"Who is it?" He asked. He should at least know who was at the door before deciding to let go of the sleeping alchemist.

"Soul, I need to speak with you and your brother." The voice belonged to Roy. What in the world could Roy possibly want? Deciding to find out what Roy wanted, he gently laid his brother's sleeping form on the couch before getting up and going over to the door.

"Yeah?" Al asked as he turned the knob, revealing the Fuhrer.

"Where's Fullmetal…?" Roy started to ask, but cut himself off, "Well, I guess it's just going to be you, Soul. Come on." Alphonse was shocked at this. Didn't Roy want him to go make his brother wake up, "Soul! Hurry it up!" Roy called, snapping Alphonse from his reverie. The dark-haired man was already at the end of the hallway. Alphonse nodded and gently shut the dorm door so not to wake his brother and quickly darted over to Roy's side.

The two walked in silence. As they neared Roy's office, Al started to slow his pace because they were probably going to go into that room. To his surprise, Roy walked right passed it. Confused, Al quickly tailed after Mustang. A few more moments passed at they were outside. This was just plain confusing to the teenager.

"Pick up the pace, Soul." Roy stated, not even bothering to take a glance at the teenage alchemist. Alphonse nodded and quickened his walking, trying to catch up with Mustang. Roy led the confused boy to the military's personal library branch and quickly entered the building.

"Um…Fuhrer Mustang?" Alphonse tried to get the man's attention.

"What is it, Soul?" Roy asked as he started scanning the shelves, reading the spines of the thick books and files that sat on the slightly dusted and worn out wooden shelves.

"Why are we in the Second Branch?" Alphonse inquired, watching as Roy pulled a book off the shelf and opened it to a previously marked page.

"This is why." Roy explained, holding the book in the teen's face, tapping on the page with his index finger, "Alphonse, I wanted to get your brother down here as well, but…I suppose you would know of this too…considering that you have seen the Truth just as your brother has. Maybe even more…." Roy's voice trailed off. Alphonse blinked in confusion, "Just read the page and tell me what you know." Roy sighed, shaking the book up and down to emphasize. Al blushed from embarrassment and nodded, quickly starting to scan the page for anything that seemed familiar. Al's silver eyes widened from seeing the contents.

"These…these are files on..." Alphonse couldn't manage to get the next words out, but he did, "Human sacrifice?"

"Ah, so I was correct…" Alphonse tilted his head to the side to express his confusion. This wasn't a normal book, it was an unlined journal and it had notes on human sacrifice to great detail and complex equations and the array was flawlessly sketched, "Soul…are you okay? You don't look too good, maybe you should go back to bed."

"Um…yeah…I…I think I'll do that…" Alphonse breathed shakily, turning to walk out of the library. Once outside, he broke into a run back toward the military base. He didn't care that he almost got hit by a car in his mindless dash, he just wanted to explain to his brother of the news he had just discovered.

**

* * *

**

"Niisan!" Alphonse's voice filled Ed's ears long before his brother even got into the room. Ed sat up and put a hand to his head. He looked at the clock on the wall. It was a little after noon. Before he could even get off the couch, his brother had already burst into the room and had him pinned down on the couch.

"What is it, Al?" Ed asked, his cheeks flushing from his lack of personal space, even though he didn't mind sharing that with his brother.

"Mustang…he found a journal…somebody is planning human sacrifice."

"What?!" Ed asked, he almost jolted upward, but because his brother had him pinned down so tightly that he couldn't move, let alone sit up, he didn't.

"A little bit ago, Roy had me go with him to the second branch and he showed me this journal…it was filled with equations for human sacrifice and the array was sketched on a page to perfection and many notes were written on it." Al explained.

"Did it have any names? Or any possible candidates for this on it?" Ed asked, completely and utterly shocked by this information, "Do you have any idea who could be behind this, Alphonse?"

"No…the only people we know that have ever mentioned human sacrifices were the homunculus, but…they're all dead."

"Not _all _of them….lets see…" Ed started, "I killed Greed and Sloth…Wrath killed Lust…Mustang murdered Pride in that fire…I don't know what became of Envy, Wrath, or Gluttony…"

"I don't know either…." Alphonse sighed, biting down on his lip as he got off of his brother. Edward sat up and put a hand to his forehead as he started to scan his brain for people that could _possibly_ be into human sacrificing, "You don't think that they….?"

"To tell the truth, I don't know what to think right now….all I know is that somebody wants to do something that involves human alchemy, that's for sure. You don't sacrifice **_human beings_** for normal alchemy, Alphonse…whoever the hell this person is…they must have completely gone insane to try and pull off a stunt this stupid…" Ed murmured, "The remaining homunculus….they could be very well planning something…but…I don't think so. Dante was killed…there's no _way_ she could have survived whatever Gluttony did to her. I think he ate her, he went crazy…I saw it."

"So did I…it was surreal to watch him react like that…" Alphonse sighed, not wanting to dwell on the topic of homunculi and human transmutation. _That _particular form of alchemy still haunted him to this day.

"…Well…lets just try and forget about it for now…" Ed sighed. Al nodded in agreement. Maybe this was all just a fake. This journal had to be a gag, it had to be. It was nothing more than a cruel and heartless joke somebody was playing on the military just to make them quiver with fear.

* * *

Hikari: Pthfh, yeah...I had to end it right there, no? Yes. Yes I did. D And I was happy about that to. As you see...the plot thickens...oh kill joy! You prolly all have sporks, torches and whatnot for me leaving you in the dark like this...so...

Again, I apologize for the long uncalled for wait, but this was as best I could do for stupid homework...and... Next time...you'll just have to wait and see Oh yes, wait! The dreaded word, WAIT! Mwhaha! -gets brik'd- Owie...


	5. Kinchoo

Hikari: Oh God! I am SOOOOOOO sorry about this wait...there's been testing at school and I've been buried under piles of homework...plus I'm getting braces soon, so I've been going to the orthodontist a lot to get molds and crap done...I'm sure I'm going to get brik'd now...anyways...

Kinchoo - "Tension"

**

* * *

****Chapter 5: Kinchoo (Tension)**

Ed rested his head in his hand was he stared out the window, watching the world pass them by; he was so used to traveling this way all he had to do was stare out the window and just wait until he fell asleep. The sun was starting to descend from its peak in the sky for the day was beginning to end. They had been on this bumpy train ride for a little bit over an hour. This was the first train to Resembool that was scheduled so they decided to that they would take it, even though they would probably get to Resembool sometime the next morning.

"What do you think Winry is going to do to us for coming without calling?" Ed jumped slightly, startled from the sudden break in the silence; the only ting he was used to hearing was the sound of the train wheels on the tracks, "Niisan?"

"…" Ed sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "I guess I'm going to get hit by that damn wrench of hers…"

"Not if I have anything to say about it." Alphonse responded as he gently scratched Hazel behind the ear. Ed looked up at his younger kin. Alphonse was dead serious, "Do you honestly think I _enjoyed _watching you get a wrench to the skull all those years?" Al questioned, raising an eyebrow. Ed quickly shook his head.

"But back then…I suppose it would have been awkward for you to run in front of me just to get hit by a wrench…" Ed sighed softly, recalling those days, the days his brother wa still bound to a cold, hollow suit. It hurt him so much to remember that.

* * *

The sun was hiding behind dark clouds while Ed's eyes were behind his closed eyelids. It was sunset, but it was so dark because of the clouds, it seemed like it was already night. Alphonse was staring out the window, looking at the sky, absentmindedly stroking Hazel, her soft purrs mingled in the air with the sound of wheels on the tracks.

"Hey Niisan…" Al turned his gaze to his brother and stopped talking. He shook his head and laughed softly. The two of them were the only ones on the train, three if you counted Hazel; all the other passengers had gotten off. It didn't surprise Alphonse too much. It was late and the only other stops were the small rural towns and not many people felt like going to the boondocks because they had nothing 'exciting' and they took too long to get to. Al didn't believe in that. Resembool was a nice and peaceful place. He and Ed grew up there, so he should now. And as kids he, Ed, and Winry didn't have much trouble finding something to do. To them, there was always something to do.

* * *

The train ride was silent, mainly because the only passengers that remained were asleep. The sky had gotten a lot darker because of the blanket of grey clouds and the lack of sunshine, but it didn't matter. Night was night. And for once, it was a silent and peaceful one. The only sound heard was the sound of the wheels against tracks.

Moonshine filtered in through the numerous windows, causing shadows to slash ever here and there. The whistle pulled Alphonse and Hazel from their sleep. Al blinked the sleep from his eyes and looked around. His silver gaze settled on his brother's sleeping form.

"Niisan…" Al sighed in a slightly irritated manor as he rolled his eyes. His brother's shirt was riding up his upper body while his flesh hand rested on his stomach, "You're going to catch a cold…"Al scolded the sleeping teenager as he placed Hazel on his seat, walking over and gently grasping onto his brother's wrist and pulling his brother's hand away from his stomach gently and tugging the black tank top back down so it covered up the exposed skin, "I've told you a million times _not_ to sleep like this and yet you do it anyway…"

Of course he knew he wasn't going to get a reply from his brother. Ed was such a deep sleeper to hear anything, let alone answer his brother. Al watched his brother intently. He was shivering a little. A smile tugged at Al's lips as he sat down on the train seat and pulled the quivering being onto his lap, enfolding his arms around him, putting a stop tot eh boy's shivering instantly. Alphonse glanced over at Hazel and smiled. The little kitten had curled up and fallen asleep again.

* * *

The night slipped away and the sun remained hidden under a blanket of thick, grey clouds. Alphonse woke up to the faint sound of the whistle and held the sleeping teenager closer to him subconsciously as the train neared Resembool station. Slowly, the train started to slow down and Alphonse knew they were coming home at last.

"Niisan…" Al murmured into the sleeping boy's ear. Golden yes opened in response to the soft voice, "We're home…" It was only after he unintentionally said it that Alphonse realized he still considered this place their home, even if they didn't have the home they were born and raised in anymore, a reminder that they could never turn back. This was the one place they felt they could go back to and feel normal. _These_ were the people that knew them before Ed was given the title of the 'Fullmetal Alchemist' and before the set off to do the Devil's Quest…to regain what had been taken from them.

Just as Ed started to come out of the fog of sleep, the train came to a complete stop. Al smiled and let his brother maneuver his way out of his arms. Al got up and stretched out his tired limbs; Ed stood up after him, but lost his balance and almost fell onto the floor if not for his brother's quick reflexes.

"Take it easy, Ed." Alphonse smiled sweetly, "You're still half asleep." Ed returned the smile and let his brother help him back onto his feet as he picked up their luggage, while Alphonse scooped Hazel into his arms. Within minutes, both of them stepped down onto the platform. It had been a while since either of them had been back to Resembool, "Hey, Niisan, I think that we should tell Winry and Aunt Pinako about…" Al stopped when he noticed Ed wasn't standing right beside him. Frantic, he looked around. Ed was walking down the dirt path towards the Rockbell home, "Niisan!"

Edward shrugged off his brother's cries and continued to walk down the dirt path. Alphonse had a different plan in mind, though. Ed felt a hand clasp around his upper arm, jerking him back, holding him still. He tried pulling his arm free from his brother's grasp, but it was to no avail. His brother's hot breath brushed against his ear.

"What's wrong? Did I do something to upset you?" Al questioned, sounding hurt.

"No…" Ed murmured, looking away from his brother.

"Then what is it?" Alphonse countered his brother's answer, taking on a more demanding tone.

"I-you…we can't let Winry and Aunt Pinako find out…." Ed finally managed to say. The hand on his arm loosened its grip and slid off, "Al...?"

"It's okay…they're like family to us…Roy and Riza know…the entire Central Headquarters knows, for that matter…actually, I'd be surprised if everybody in Amestris doesn't know by now, with the way news like that travels…"

"Yeah, but news doesn't really travel all the way out here to rural communities like Resembool too often, Al. And when they actually do get some news, it's normally something about a war, there isn't any war right now other than the Ishballan Rebellion, but that was months ago." Ed murmured his explanation. Alphonse had to agree with that. It wasn't often news leaked out this far and when it did, it normally was about war and the problems in Central, "But still…Alphonse…I think its best if they don't know…what if they…they…" But before he could finish his statement, Alphonse had grabbed him and pulled him close, causing Ed to lose his grip on the suitcase's handle.

"They won't, Niisan…Winry and Aunt Pinako…they've always been here for us…so we can tell them this, they'll understand…I know they will." Al assured his brother. Ed leaned against Alphonse and sighed, "I promise...I won't let anybody take you from me…okay?"

"I know…" Ed murmured back, Alphonse smiled and let go of his brother and walked over to pick up Hazel, who had been rolling around in the grass during their conversation. Ed managed a slight smile and tailed after his brother.

* * *

About fifteen minutes passed by and the two were standing in front of the door to the Rockbell household. Ed sighed and brought his automail hand up to the wooden door and knocked on it slightly while Al tried to get Hazel to stop squirming around in his grasp.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Winry's voice was heard from inside the walls of the building. Edward stepped back so he was somewhat sheltered by his brother. The door opened, revealing Winry. She was wearing sweats, "Edward? Alphonse?" She blinked, thinking that she was seeing things. After a while, she realized they were actually there, and then she noticed the kitten, "Ed finally let you get a kitten, didn't he? It's so cute, Al!"

"Thanks." Al paused, "Winry…we got your letter about Aunt Pinako…" Al started, glancing over at his brother who was just starting to brace himself for a hit. As if he was going to let that happen. Winry managed a smile and Hazel started to struggle more in her master's grasp.

"Thanks you guys, this really means a lot to me…" Winry stated warmly, throwing her arms around both of them, practically squishing Hazel between her and Alphonse, "She's been like this for a while and she just…doesn't seem like she's getting any…better…" It was clear to both of them that Winry was reduced to tears now. When she let them go she tried to wipe her tears away with her sleeve, "Well…it looks like a storm is coming…you guys should come on in." Winry smiled through her tears and stepped aside so they could walk inside. They did and Winry shut the door gently behind them.

"So…how bad is it?" Al asked, he had been wondering about that ever since he had read the letter. Ed on the other hand, didn't seem to be too fond of that topic. Winry sighed and looked down at the floor as she locked the door.

"It's…" Winry started, but shook her head, "She tries to show me that she doesn't need to stay in bed…and that she can help with the automail repairs and regular household work…but the doctor said that she should rest…I just want her to get better…"

"Oh…is it…?" Al started to ask, getting worried, but Winry quickly cut him off.

"No…it's not that…" She assured him instantly. Alphonse sighed in relief. Edward on the other hand, wasn't so relieved. He merely shifted uncomfortably in his place, his golden gaze fixed on the worn, wooden floor. He didn't like to talk about death, or the fact that Pinako was ill. All he wanted was to erase this, or to fix it. This needed to be undone before it got out of hand and they ended up one Rockbell short, "You two…you look like you should get some rest. Sleeping on a train only helps so much…"

Alphonse nodded in agreement with her, plus, Hazel was getting a little hard to hold onto now; it was clear that she wanted to explore her new environment, "Yeah, you're right…but are you sure you don't need any help at all?" Alphonse offered.

"I'm fine, really. Grandma just fell asleep, so I won't need any help for a bit. Go upstairs and unpack." Winry smiled as she walked into the kitchen. A few seconds later, the sound of running water was heard throughout the house. Edward's gaze remained fixed on the floor and he made no attempt to move from his spot. Al glanced at his brother with a look of worry on his face; it wasn't like Ed to be so quiet and distant like he was being now. Ed's grip tightened on the suitcase's handle and he started to walk up the stairs. Worried, Alphonse quickly followed his brother.

* * *

Ed hated this, so many things were running through his head, he had lost track of how many emotions had built up inside as well. He didn't know what he was supposed to be feeling. Once he got to the spare room, he quickly turned the doorknob and pushed it open. Still engulfed by worry and confusion, Alphonse followed, placed Hazel down on the floor and leaned against the wooden door until it closed. Ed put the suitcase down and sighed and Hazel scampered off to explore her new surroundings while Al continued to worry about his brother's strange behavior.

"Niisan, are you okay?" Al asked as he started to walk over to Ed. Edward's golden gaze still remained fixed on the floor as his body started to shake. Then he knew. Hastily, Al pulled Ed into a tight embrace and tried his best to calm Ed down, "It's going to be okay…"

"Why does this always happen to us…?" Ed choked out as he buried his face in Al's shirt, clinging to the clothing tightly with both hands, "Why do we always lose people that are close to us…?"

"I…I don't know…" Al replied, biting down softly on his lower lip as he let his mind register what his brother had said. Edward did have a point. They had lost a lot of people that were close to them in a way, their mother, Nina, Hughes, Marta, and now they were losing Pinako, "I honestly don't know why…" Al sighed, trying to calm his older brother down as best as he could.

* * *

"Ed! Al! Come downstairs! Dinner's ready!" Winry's voice filled the house. Al, who had been reading a book and enjoying the silence, was slightly startled by the sudden break in the stillness, "Come on, you two!"

Edward opened his eyes a little bit and groaned softly, almost silently. He had fallen asleep on the bed, curled up next to Alphonse just a few minutes earlier. Alphonse glanced over at his tired brother, "Did you sleep well?"

"I would have slept better if it had been for more than five minutes…" Edward groaned in displeasure, his voice was slurred a bit due to the fact he _was _just sleeping a few moments prior to this conversation.

"Well, we better get going…or Winry's going to come up here and see what's keeping us…" Alphonse sighed, closing his book gently and placing it on the nightstand carefully before getting up off the bed. Ed yawned softly and followed, fixing his messed up braid as he walked out into the hallways, shutting the door so Hazel wouldn't get out of the room, and tailed after Alphonse like a lost puppy.

* * *

Winry looked up at the two and smiled slightly. She could remember when they were just little kids, running around Resembool and causing mischief everywhere they went. They were young and naïve to the ways of the world. Now…Edward and Alphonse Elric, the two that used to run around in the fields of Resembool with wide, childish grins spread across their faces, were mature and they both knew the ways of the world. And they knew that fate could give you a cold, hard slap across the face if you tried to do the forbidden.

"So…" Winry started, trying to break the silence with a friendly conversation, "Anything new happen in Central with you two?" Winry asked kindly as she started setting the table, "Or were you guys just doing paperwork through the winter…?"

"Actually, we were out in Liore…" Al started, but was cut off when he felt Ed's automail arm jab him in the side, he looked over at Ed with a scowl on his face, but his brother's expression cleared it up for him. He didn't want Winry to know that they had been soldiers in the rebellion.

"Why…why were you out in the desert? Can you imagine what the heat does to Ed's automail? It probably makes him so unbearable to be around." Winry joked, "Honestly, what could you guys possibly be doing out there? Not much to see…and I thought that you took a desk job, Ed. So you'd be with Alphonse…"

"Well, um…we had to…" Al started.

"I did take a desk job. But we had to go out here with a few other soldiers to go check up on Liore, that's all…" Ed quickly lied through his teeth, he was good at that. Al nodded, trying to back up his brother's response. Winry smiled.

"That's good." She said as she ladled stew into four bowls and placed three of which on the table, "I'll be right back, I'm going to give this to Grandma, be right back; you guys can go ahead and eat if you want…"Winry told them as she carried the bowl out of the room.

A few moments of silence passed just to be sure Winry was out of earshot. Then Alphonse turned his attention to his brother.

"You didn't tell her about the rebellion, did you?" Al accused, sounding a bit annoyed. Ed quickly looked to the side, avoiding his brother's gaze at all costs, even though he could feel his brother's stare piercing through him. Then a small sigh broke the tension. Ed looked up, slightly surprised; he was expecting to be yelled at until Winry came back into the room, "Why don't you ever tell her? It makes me wonder if there are things you're hiding from me as well, Edward."

"Alphonse…" Ed started to apologize for making Alphonse feel like that, but was silenced by an undecipherable stare from his younger kin. A few seconds later, Winry walked back into the room.

"I said you guys could go ahead and eat." She smiled as she sat down at the table, "Didn't you hear me?"

"Yeah…" Al murmured softly as he took a seat. Ed did the same. Ten minutes slowly passed by and not a word was spoken.

"Did I miss something…?" Winry asked, finally breaking the silence, "Are you guys fighting?"

"No." Alphonse replied, stirring his spoon around in the bowl. Winry glanced over at Ed; he hadn't even touched his food, which was strange.

"Ed…" Winry started, reaching over to place a hand on his shoulder. Her fingers almost touched Ed's shoulder, but he stood up quickly, narrowly dodging her touch, practically knocking his chair over in the process.

"I'll be upstairs…" Ed muttered, keeping his gaze fixed on the floorboards; Alphonse looked up, catching a glimpse of his brother's face just moments before he left the room. He could have sworn Ed was crying, but he didn't want to jump to conclusions like that.

"Did something happen between you two that you're not telling me…?" Winry asked, turning all her attention to Alphonse. Al sighed and nodded, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"We were in Liore…because I followed Ed after he was called out there to serve in the military against the rebellion…" Al explained slowly, keeping his gaze down, not really wanting to see Winry's reaction to this news, "We're both alchemists of the State…" Alphonse murmured, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the silver pocket watch, sliding it across the table for Winry to see, "Mustang made me a State Alchemist as well."

"Why…why didn't you tell me sooner?" Winry inquired, trying to hide the hurt in her voice, but failing at it miserably.

"I didn't...I didn't know that Ed didn't tell you…" Al replied softly, "I'm sorry…that we didn't tell you about this sooner…"

"It's okay…but what's wrong with your brother? Did you fight…?"

"I…I told him that if he hides things from you…I thought he was hiding things from me too…" Alphonse replied. Suddenly, Winry's palms slammed against the table, causing Alphonse to look up at her in a flash. She was crying.

"You…idiot…" She choked out through her sobs. Al could only watch as his friend continued to cry. All of a sudden, she glared at Al, tears still spilling from her eyes, "You're such an idiot, Al!"

"Winry, calm down…" Al started, leaning back in the chair until it fell over, him going along with it. Before he knew it, Winry was looming over him, her tears dripping from her face and bursting as they came in contact with his.

"Go apologize to him!" She growled, pointing towards the staircase, indicating she wanted him to do it now, "NOW!"

"Y…yes, Winry…" Al choked out, scrambling to his feet and running out of the room. Winry watched him dart up the stairs and wiped her eyes once he was out of view.

"Niisan…?" Al finally got himself to say as he approached the door cautiously, it was open just a bit, but he wasn't going to just storm right in there, he didn't know what mood Ed was in. He made his way over to the wooden barrier between him and his brother and tapped on it lightly with the back of his hand, "Niisan…?"

He waited a while. No response. He sighed and knocked on the door a little bit harder, causing it to creak open. Silver eyes went wide at what he saw...or...what he didn't see that is.

* * *

Hikari: Again, I am sorry for the cliff hanger and the long and unannounced wait...heheh... Please give me a 5 second headstart to run? -quickly runs off- 


	6. Shinjitsu

Hikari: Okay, you can kill me for taking so long to update this thing. It's late from a combination of laziness, writer's block, and all around editing it and rechanging it about fifty times before I actually liked how it turned out, so if you're not pleased with how it turned out or how long it took to get posted, by all means pummel me until you are content.

* * *

**Chapter 6: Shinjitsu (Reality)**

"Ed? Are you in here…?" Al questioned as he made his way into the room, starting t to look around for his elder kin, "Niisan, this isn't funny anymore." In his haste, Al didn't notice his kitten sitting in his way and accidentally kicked her in the side. Immediately after his foot came in contact with her, she let out a high-pitched cry, getting her master's attention right away. Al gingerly picked her up and tried to calm her down, but she squirmed from his grasp and quickly took cover under the bed.

Al walked over to the bed and got down on his hands and knees, looking under the furniture, Hazel was huddled up in a ball, shaking quite visibly, "Hazel, I'm so sorry…please come here…" Al began to apologize as he reached out his hand to stroke her. Then he realized that it wasn't such a good idea, but by then it was a little too late. A split-second after putting his hand under the bed, Hazel had slashed his hand with her sharp claws; he quickly recoiled and clutched his hand tightly in an attempt to stop the bleeding, "Okay, I guess I do deserve that…" He admitted as he got back up onto his feet. Still no sign of Edward anywhere, and the weather was getting really bad. Tears splattered onto the wooden floor.

* * *

The sound of shoes on a dirt path seemed to echo throughout Resembool. Everything was so quiet. Unlike Central…it was hard to hear your own thoughts in Central, let alone the sound of your footsteps. Something wet came in contact with Ed's nose. He looked up and a droplet of rain smacked him directly between the eyes.

"Great…and I don't have my coat…" Ed cursed aloud, looking down at a pebble in his path. He narrowed his honeysuckle eyes and kicked it ruthlessly down the dirt road before him, "Damnit all!"

At first, Ed could bear with the world and just accept the fact that it was not going to stop raining anytime soon. Then it started pouring down on him. Al was going to kill him for going out in weather like this without his jacket. If the weather didn't beat him to it, that is.

Fifteen…twenty…maybe even thirty minutes? He didn't even know how much time had passed or where on earth his feet were taking him for that matter, all he knew is that it was pouring, it was getting dark, and…he probably had Winry and Alphonse worried sick. Now he really wished he had brought his coat along, the rain was merciless and icy cold against his body and it didn't seem like it was going to let up any time soon. The sound of rushing waters filled his ears. At least now he knew he was close to the river.

The wind blew the rain in almost every direction possible, making it even harder to see. Even if he did want to go back to the house, he had no chance of going back now. The heavy downpour of rain was weighing him down and each step he took seemed to drain more and more of his energy. It was getting hard to stand up, let alone move forwards another inch. All of a sudden, he lost his footing and something hard came in contact with his head and his vision started to get blurrier with each passing second.

* * *

Rays of warmth shone down on Resembool and golden eyes opened and the fog of sleep started to disappear. Ed sat up and winced. Bad idea, bad idea. Edward groaned in pain softly as he put a hand to his aching head. If this was anything like a hangover, he never wanted to get drunk. Where was he anyway? After shaking off the dull pain his head was causing him, he realized where he was. He reached out his hand and gently touched the cold, hard stone in front of him and looked at the name carved into it. _**Trisha Elric. **_  
"Hey Mom…it's been a while, hasn't it?" Ed spoke softly, gently moving his hand across the smooth surface of the gravestone, his fingers running across the name carved into the stone slowly, "Aunt Pinako is sick…I hope I don't have to see her stone anytime soon. Mom…it hurt me and Alphonse enough just to see your name on this…I don't think we could handle seeing Aunt Pinako go…wait…Alphonse!" Ed snapped back into reality and stood up quickly, instantly wishing that he hadn't done that, because the sudden movement caused his head to pound again, "Awe…damnit!"

* * *

"Al, calm down…" Winry stated, grabbing Al by the shoulders and looking him straight in the eye, "If you keep thinking the worst, you're just going to make yourself even more stressed out! Calm down, go lay down and I'll take care of it!" Winry practically demanded.

"But I…" Al started to protest.

"No buts, Alphonse, go upstairs and lay down!" Winry repeated, this time with a more stern tone, "Now!" She added, Al nodded and scrambled up the staircase and did as told. Winry stood there for a moment, waiting to hear the door shut. After it did and sighed heavily, "Damnit, Edward…"

The door opened and Winry immediately turned her attention in that direction, "You have a lot of explaining to do, Edward!" She sighed impatiently, "You had us worried sick! Do you know how scared we were!? Alphonse thought you left him here and went back to Central, or that you fell into the river and drowned or something!"

"I know, I know, I'm sorry…" Ed began, but Winry cut him off before he could finish.

"Sorry doesn't cut it this time, Ed!" Winry growled.

"But Winry, let me explain!" Ed stated, sounding a bit agitated.

"Al cares about you more than anything! You can't just walk away like that all the time and think that it doesn't affect him! It does, don't you ever stop to think about what's best for him?" Winry demanded, "Half the time I don't think you do!"

"Don't say that! Don't you _ever_ say that, Winry! Al means more to me than anything and you know that!" Edward growled back at her, trying not to get too worked up, but he was failing at it miserably, "Don't you ever think that I don't think about what's best for him! I don't care what situation I'm in, if I had to choose between my own life and Al's, I'd save his in a heartbeat! If we had to get separated for any reason and I knew it was best for Al, no matter how much I'd hate to say good-bye I would if it meant he'd be better off"

"You sure didn't seem like you cared last night when you left like that!" Winry retorted, "I stayed up with Al all night trying to make sure he stayed inside! I wasn't going to let both of you go outside in that weather and I couldn't leave him here all alone without any supervision while I ran around the entire town trying to find you!"

"As if you could give proper supervision to _my _little brother! You'd probably let a baby swallow a knife or go play with your toolkit! At least I can take care of my brother properly, you're too obsessed with any old hunk of metal, you automail freak!"

"Oh sure, running out into a bad storm and making him cry all night shows you care so much, Bean sprout! You're a terrible big brother, Edward!" Ed's gaze darkened at the 'bean sprout' comment, but Winry ignored it, "You never think before you do anything and it hurts the ones you care about!"

"I…" Edward didn't know what he was supposed to say. Now that he thought about it, what if she was right? It could be that Al had just been saying that he was a good big brother when he really thought that he was a failure.  
"Alphonse suffers from your mistakes as well…it's not just you!"

"I know…" Ed murmured, looking down at the floor.

Alphonse was about ready to cry. Listening to them argue like that. He had come out of his room because he heard he front door open and he really wanted to see that Ed was okay. But he never expected that he would have to listen to an argument. And it seemed like he was the subject now.

"You say you always think about what's best for him, but when you walk out on him like that and worry him half to death it makes me wonder if what you say is true!"  
"But he _does_ care." Alphonse didn't realize he said that aloud until it was too late. He could feel Ed and Winry's gazes piercing through him.

"Winry, let me talk to Alphonse alone." Ed muttered, nodding towards the kitchen, Winry shook her head and reluctantly started to leave.

"I'm not through with you, Ed!" She growled into Ed's ear as she passed him and walked into the other room, leaving Ed alone with Al.

"So, how long have you been there?" Ed asked, turning all his attention back to Alphonse, who had been sitting at the top of the staircase.

"Long enough to hear you two practically screaming at each other, why? Is that a--?"

Al didn't get to finish his question. Before he knew it, he found himself in his brother's embrace, listening to soothing nothings while he was held tightly by strong, yet gentle arms.

"I'm sorry, Alphonse, I'm so, so sorry…" Ed apologized over and over, like that was all he knew how to say. Al smiled slightly and closed his eyes.

"It's okay. Ed…?" He pulled away from the embrace slightly, hoping his movement would get his older brother's attention.

"What is it, Al? Am I holding you too tightly?" uncertainty filled Ed's voice.

"No, not that…you're a great big brother." Al smiled, looking up at Ed with innocent silver eyes.

"Yeah…some brother I turned out to be." Ed muttered under his breath, letting Al go and standing up, walking towards their room.

"Really! You're a great big brother!" Alphonse quickly repeated himself, quickly getting to his feet and following Ed, "You're the best big brother I could ever ask for! I don't care what other people say…you'll always be a great big brother in my eyes!"

Edward froze and looked over his shoulder at Alphonse, "Do you mean that, Al…?"

"Of course I do, you should know that…" Al answered with a slight smile on his face.

"Do you truly mean it? Or are you just saying that because you feel like you have to because I'm your only remaining family? After all the years you were bound to armor because of me, all those years you were unable to feel and live your life, you should hate me now, yet you don't..."

"I just don't. I could never hate you! I told you that before!" Al quickly countered.

"But you _should_! You should hate me for everything I've done to you!"

"I don't hate you and I don't want to hate you, it's as simple as that."

"Well, you should!" Ed counteracted in an almost demanding tone. Al started to open his mouth to disagree with his brother's reasoning, but he stopped himself; he could see that this wasn't getting him anywhere, and that Ed wasn't going to back down either, he might as well be the one to end it.

_'Arguing with Niisan is pointless anyway…he'll never back down.'_ Al thought as he brushed against Ed to get to their room, walking in and shutting the door behind him.

* * *

Ed walked down the staircase and walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table.

"What happened?" Winry asked, taking a seat opposite of Ed. Ed looked up at her and shook his head.

"Nothing much. We just had a little argument was all…" He tried to make it sound like it wasn't bothering him.

"About what?" Winry asked, trying to get Edward to open up a little more.

"Brotherly stuff…" Ed immediately answered, "It was just a little brother's quarrel, nothing too serious, we'll come around soon enough."

"If you're sure it's something that you guys can take care of easily…" Winry sighed, standing up and walking away, leaving Edward alone.

* * *

Alphonse stared up at the ceiling, trying to calm himself down. It got on his nerves when Edward wouldn't listen. He hated arguing with his big brother, it was pointless. Ed would never back down and they'd end up yelling the same things back at each other until he got fed-up with it. Hazel was sitting by the door, scratching it slightly, telling Alphonse she wanted to get out of the room and explore the house some more. A smile graced his lips as he walked over to her and stroked her fur. She wasn't angry with him about the little incident anymore.

Hazel purred and arched her back up towards Al's touch, closing her eyes languidly. Alphonse stood up and opened the door, watching the energetic kitten scamper out of the room quickly, eager to explore the Rockbell household. The door closed.

* * *

Hazel stopped when she came to the stairs. She looked at them in curiosity, her tail flicking from side to side as she debated whether or not to try and climb down the staircase. Deciding it would be fun, she started to make her way down one step at a time, her footing precise so she would not fall and injure herself. She mewed happily as she reached the bottom, happy of her triumph over the obstacle. Her eyes scanned the main room. She saw Edward and instantly scurried over to him, mewing happily as she did so.

Edward looked down at her and grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and lifted her up so she was eye-level with him, his eyes held a hint of jealousy. Hazel merely purred blissfully in return to his envious stare, "How come Al never gets upset with you, you little fuzz ball?" Edward asked. She just blinked and flicked her tail from side to side in response, "As if you an answer me..." he sighed, placing her back down on the ground.

"Niisan?" Ed jumped slightly, looking up to see his little brother.

"Yeah, Al?" was Ed's initial response, he was a bit startled by his brother.

"Um...Niisan...you know...how earlier I told you what Mustang discovered? About that dodgy person reading that journal on human transmutation?" Edward grimaced.

"Al, I thought we agreed to just forget about that before we left."

"I know, but..."  
"No buts, Al!" Ed snapped, causing Al to look up at him in surprise, "I don't want to talk about human transmutation or who could possibly be reading up on it! I'm sure that it's just some twisted joke that somebody is pulling off so the military dogs will wet themselves and get all paranoid!"

"But Ed--"

"No!" Edward stated more firmly, "Just drop it, okay? It's just a trick somebody is playing, it has to be. There can't be any more homunculi! They're gone; Al, gone forever and they aren't coming back."

"How do you know? What about Envy, Gluttony and Wrath? Niisan, they could still be out there somewhere tracking us down!" Ed rolled his eyes, Al was seriously paranoid about this whole thing, "They may not have Dante or Lust to keep them in line, but they have _Envy_!"

"Al, I understand that it's hard to remember that they are gone, I have to remind myself too, but I'm happy I know they are gone." Ed smiled, "Because then we don't have to keep looking over our shoulders and praying that the person we are talking to won't morph into that ugly palm tree."

"Even if the Gate swallowed him, are you sure that he stayed in there?" Al inquired. Edward froze, "I mean...you and me were in the Gate and we both got out, and if we can get out, who's to say that Envy can't...? I mean he could be wandering the streets with a vengeance or he could be wearing anybody's face--."

"That's enough, Al!" Alphonse blinked in surprise by Ed's sudden outburst.

"Why? Because you know I could be right, don't you?" the younger boy seemed satisfied with himself now. Edward narrowed his eyes slightly.

"No. I just don't want to talk about it!" Ed pouted, "It's not a subject I like to dwell on, Alphonse, you of all people should know that."

"Of course I know that!" Alphonse replied, "But you're not listening to me, Niisan!"  
"I am listening to you! I just don't want to!" Edward retorted, looking the other way. Al restrained himself from screaming in frustration by biting down on his lip, "Now just drop it, Al, we're through discussing it!"  
"Stop acting like you're five years old, Ed!" this wasn't going anywhere, and hopefully that comment would shut Ed up for the time being, "If you won't look into this, I will!"

"No, Al, don't!" Ed practically yelled.

"I wasn't asking for your consent, _Edward_." Alphonse stated calmly, Edward stiffened at the sound of his full name, Al rarely used that when addressing him, "I was telling you. I'm just a bit younger than you; I'm not a child anymore, I can make my own decisions without you holding my hand, Ed."

"I know that! I just don't want you to get yourself into danger!" Edward yelled, he was done holding back his annoyance. Eyes of gold and silver darkened.

The two stood, their gazes locked, neither of them making a sound. Pure silence. Hazel walked over to Al's ankles and sat at his side, looking at Alphonse then at Edward, quite perplexed by the sudden tension in the air.

"You are not Mom, Ed." Al breathed, breaking the silence. Hazel's ears drooped at the tone in her master's voice and she looked up at him, "You never let me do anything, you treat me like a child, well I'm not a little kid anymore." Edward's fury seemed to melt as he heard his younger brother's words.

"Alphonse..." He murmured, taking a step closer to his kin, Al merely took a step backward.

"I'm not going to spend my entire life in your shadow; I'm not going to live my life only known as 'Fullmetal's baby brother'! I'm Alphonse Elric and I'm not a child anymore!"

* * *

Hikari: -braces herself for incoming injuries by sporks and pitchforks- Please, before you kill me, tell me what you thought of it, and yes I know I need improvment, don't flame it because of that! 


	7. Araryooji

Hikari: Ack!! I am soooooooo sorry that this took so long, really! I've had it done for a while now, but then I was picky with the ending, so I tweaked it a few times until I got it just the way I wanted it. Okay as far as warnings go...

Al might be slightly out of character in the beginning of the chapter, but other than that...I think that's about it.

* * *

**Chapter 7: Araryooji**

Edward was left utterly speechless by this unexpected turn of events. Maybe he _was_ a little too protective over Alphonse, but it was only because he cared; he wasn't trying to force Alphonse into his shadow, he wasn't trying to keep Al hidden from the world. At least, that's what he thought. He could try and hold back his protective nature, but when he thought of Al without anyone there to shield him from danger, he just couldn't help himself. It was probably elderly brother instincts that made him act that way, or it was his love for Alphonse that made him so determined to look after his well-being.

"Al, if this is because you're feeling unappreciated, just tell m—"

"You just don't understand!" Al interrupted, his voice rising as he spoke, clearly upset about something much more than what he was leading Ed to believe was troubling him.

"Al, can't you just calm down and tell me what's going on with you?" Ed asked, trying to calm Al down enough to get a lucid response from him, "You know you can tell me anything."

Hazel crouched down against the wooden floor at Alphonse's feet, her ears flat against her head, she could sense the tension radiating off of both teens, "Somebody is looking into human transmutation, and you've attempted it twice, once was successful!" Al paused, his hands clenching into tight fists at his sides, "Did it not once occur to you that this person might come looking for you? I know you're smarter than that, you became an alchemist at age twelve, youngest they've had!"

"Don't lecture me, Alphonse!" Edward snapped, clearly getting tired of being told off by his _younger _brother, "Go up to the room and I'll talk to you later." Alphonse didn't move, "Now." Ed's tone was austere.

"No." Al replied firmly, picking up the kitten at his feet. He grabbed his coat and made his way over to the door.

"Where do you think you're going, Alphonse?" Ed questioned in a demanding tone.

"Going outside." Al replied simply before walking outside, slamming the door harshly behind him.

It took Ed a while to register what had just happened. Once it clicked, he scrambled outside and looked around worriedly for any trace of Hazel or Alphonse.

"Al? Alphonse!?" Ed yelled, practically falling down the stairs, breaking into a run down the dirt path. Al would most likely go to the graveyard right now. But there were other places Al would go, such as the ruins of their childhood home, or the river.

After searching those places with not much luck, Ed slumped against a tree. He closed his eyes and let out a long, frustrated sigh, "Where else would he go...?" the sound of a distant train filled the air. Edward's eyes snapped open. He mustered up what remaining strength he had and ran towards the tracks. All the while, he cursed the fact that he was tired from the previous night and the fact that he had gotten Al so worked up.

-----

Alphonse sighed as Hazel fidgeted on his shoulder. It was clear she was just as upset as he was. Hazel looked over at Alphonse, her ears still pressed against her head. Al glanced at her, a pang of guilt hitting him when he saw the look in her eyes.

"Awe, Hazel, don't look at me like that, Ed and I are just having a brotherly fight, nothing more." Hazel still looked at him with uncertainty. Alphonse placed a hand on her head stroked her gently, "Everything will be okay; we don't usually fight long."

The familiar platform came into view. Alphonse kicked the dirt, he knew that he needed a break from his brother, and this was the best way to do it. Well, that's what he was trying to get himself to believe the whole walk over here. He still had his doubts, but he knew that he needed to get back to Central to investigate and Ed surely wouldn't let him do that, he knew that for a fact. So, the only way to get what he wanted done to get taken care of was to get on the next train to Central and go get more information from Roy and then work off of that.

Time ticked painfully ticked by as he walked over to the platform. Once he stepped foot on the familiar ground, he walked over to the ticket booth, "When's the next train to Central?" he asked softly, forcing himself to look up at the woman behind the counter.

"In about five minutes." She answered, "Would you like a ticket?"

Al cast a glance back at the tracks, he could hear the faint sound of an oncoming train, and he knew that was his ride.

"Well?" Alphonse snapped out of his reverie. He nodded and handed her the money, waiting patiently while she got him a ticket. She handed it to him and he walked over to the tracks.

For a long while, Alphonse stared at the small piece of paper in his hand. He wasn't entirely sure he could get on that train and leave Edward behind. They'd be miles apart from each other, then. Was this the right thing to do? Before he had time to think it over one last time, the train pulled in to the station and slowly came to a stop.

"Alphonse!"

Alphonse glanced over his shoulder. He was expecting to see Edward running towards him. But when he didn't see anyone, he shrugged it off and looked at the small piece of paper in his hand before turning his gaze to the train. It wasn't going to wait for him all day.

--------

By the time Ed got to the platform, he was entirely out of breath and in a panic.

"Can I help you?" The ticket lady asked, furrowing her brow in concern; Edward looked like he was going to pass out on the spot if he didn't get rest soon.

"H...have you seen...a boy about my age, dirty blonde hair? He'd have a kitten with him." His words were frantically strung together, all said on a single breath. Judging from the look the woman was giving him, he must have looked like a real mess.

"Actually, you just—"

"Please..._don't_ tell me he got on that train." Edward interrupted before the woman could finish her response, the tone of his voice getting low and serious, his heart racing.

"I'm sorry..." That was all that needed to be said for Edward to get the message. He quickly jumped onto the tracks from the platform, getting a good look at the distance between him and train. There was no way he could ever reach that train on foot, and to stop that train with alchemic forces could cause injury to the passengers, something he wouldn't risk.

-----

It had been almost three whole days since Alphonse had gotten on the train. The sandy-haired boy lay curled up on the seat, his mind deep in a somewhat restless sleep from the noise and the recent events. Hazel lay close to her master, on the thin line between sleep and consciousness. She could sense the worry that the adolescent was feeling and it made her uneasy. Alphonse's eyes opened in a flash, his breath coming out in ragged pants. Hazel rubbed her head against Al, trying her best to comfort him, but she knew that she could never soothe her master as well as Edward did.

Alphonse looked down at the calico kitten nuzzling him, he stroked her back. After a while, he sat up and scooped Hazel into his arms, holding her gingerly. At least he had Hazel with him, but every time he looked at her, he would recall how he got her. Al averted his gaze; Hazel had been a gift from his brother.

"Hazel...do you think I did the right thing...? Leaving Niisan back there?" he asked, looking back at the kitten in his hands, she stared back at him with a sorrowful look in her eyes, Alphonse bit his lip, "We both needed time alone...I thought that this would be a good way to do that..." his voice trailed off. He knew he didn't have enough money to buy another ticket so he could get back.

The train gradually came to a halt, wheels straining against the tracks. Al took a glance out of the window; this was his stop. He slid off the seat and Hazel made her way up Al's arm so she was sitting atop his shoulder. Once Al was sure Hazel had steadied herself, he made his way off of the train. He looked to his left, expecting to see his brother, but instead Hazel stared back at him with concern in her eyes.

"C'mon, Hazel...we should get back to Central Headquarters and report to Fuhrer Mustang..." he murmured, fishing his silver pocket watch out of his coat pocket, staring at it as he walked down the sidewalk. He closed his eyes and turned his head away from the object as he shoved it back into the depths of his pocket.

Headquarters was a few blocks away from where he was now. As he walked, Al started to think of what he was going to do after he arrived at HQ. He was definitely going to call Winry and let her know that he was okay.

Other people filled the streets of Central; bits of conversations filled the air along with the sounds of cars driving down the roads. Time was still going on, even though it seemed slowed down.

Hazel's ears perked up. She quickly turned her head, scanning the area. Realizing her master was going in the opposite direction of the disturbance she had sensed, the young feline decided to take matters into her own paws. She waited patiently for Al to come to a stop, then hastily jumped off Al's shoulder and scurried off.

Noticing the absence of the weight on his shoulder, Alphonse whirled around, watching helplessly as his kitten disappeared into crowd, "Hazel? Hazel, come back!" he cried out desperately, following her into the crowd, pushing his way through the people, trying to catch sight of the calico, after a few moments of panicked searching, he saw her. The kitten was quickly gaining speed and Alphonse knew that he had to catch her soon, or he'd lose sight of her again.

Since Hazel was small and agile, the task of pursuing her proved difficult, but Alphonse somehow managed to center all his attention on her; his gaze never leaving Hazel for a second. Her movements were swift and precise; it was obvious that she knew where she was going.

But he knew that if continued to follow Hazel, he would soon find himself lost within the maze of buildings, he hadn't paid much attention when Ed would take him to certain places within Central, and now he wished he would have. Hazel was going to come to a street soon, and Alphonse knew he couldn't just run into traffic in an attempt to catch Hazel, so he had to catch her now or he'd lose her.

'_Here goes nothing.' _Alphonse threw himself at his pet, grabbing onto one of her hind legs as he slammed against the sidewalk. The impact had nearly knocked the wind out of him, but his grip on Hazel's leg remained firm. He quickly gathered the squirming kitten into his arms, getting back onto his feet.

A woman walked by swiftly, bumping into Alphonse, causing him to stumble backwards into a man that was passing by.

Hazel's body stiffened and she let out a small hiss when she saw the stranger, "I'm sorry, Sir..." Al apologized as he turned around. The man that he had bumped into was at least six inches taller than he was and wore a black jacket and had dark jeans on. His medium-length hair was black at the roots that it faded into silver that tied back in a short ponytail; silvery bangs covered his brow, almost concealing his emerald eyes from view.

"It's alright, don't worry about it, kiddo." The man smiled, "You're an alchemist?" he inquired, his gaze settled on the chain that belonged to Alphonse's pocket watch. Alphonse nodded, "Oh, so tell me, are you the notorious Fullmetal Alchemist?" the man asked curiously.

"No, I'm his little brother." Alphonse struggled to hold back his laughter as he corrected the man, it was a common mistake, one that would infuriate his brother deeply, "I better get going—"

"Be careful, I wouldn't want you to get hurt." The stranger smirked, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Thanks." Al nodded before walking away, feeling the man's eyes locked on his back. The feeling was starting to make him feel uneasy, so he quickened his pace, hoping to get out of there as soon as he possibly could.


End file.
